Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice and data. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3 GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) in IEEE 802.16e, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. Each terminal communicates with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The downlink (DL) refers to the communication link from a base station to the terminals or the mobile stations and the uplink (UL) refers to the communication link from the terminals or the mobile stations to the base stations. Grants to a mobile station (MS) for UL transmission may be provided in UL MAP information elements (IEs). The communication link may be established via a single-in-single-out, multiple-in-single-out or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
Standards that are used for mobile wireless communications (e.g. WiMAX or LTE) may be limited by UL coverage, and the bandwidth request process may be inefficient. For example, WiMAX may use a 5-step Bandwidth Request process that caused increased latency for many time-sensitive UL messages. The increased latency may degrade mobile network performance and cause throughput problems with TCP traffic.